Seed-corn sorter.



No. 759,811. V PATENTED MAY 10, 1904; L. P. GRAHAM.

SEED CORN SORT-ER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 19, 1903. 1V0 MODEL.

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WW QQAQWW No. 759,811. PATENTED MAY 10, 1904. L. P. GRAHAM.

SEED GORN SORTER.

APPLICATION 21mm nov. 1a, 1903. H0 110mm. 2 sums-sum 2.

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nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn uc UNITED STATES Patented May 10, 1904.

LEVI P. GRAHAM, OF DECATUR, ILLINOIS.

SEED-CORN SORTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.759,811, dated May 10, 1904.

Application filed November 19, 1903. Serial No. 182,125. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LEVI P. GRAHAM, of the city of Decatur, county of Macon, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Seed-Corn Sorters, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to sort corn preparatory to planting; and the idea of means resides in a pair of members which combine to form a slot having converging sides, one of the members being movable with relation to the other and having extensions projecting into the slot in position to engage the grains and carry them toward an enlarged dischargespace in the slot.

In the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a plan of an embodiment of my invention, and Fig. 2 is a central vertical section from side to side through Fig. 1.

A ring 1 has a web 2 on its upper edge,which more or less covers the ring, and it has a notch 4 in its under edge, as shown in Fig. 2. A boss 3 on web 2 is bored vertically concentric with the ring. A shaft 5 is journaled in the bore of the boss, and a conical or convex plate 6 is fastened onto the shaft below the boss. The plate 6 is provided on its upper surface near its perimeter with ribs 7 or equivalent upward extensions. The ribs project into the slot formed by the converging sides of the ring and the plate. They are far enough apart to permit the passage of grains of corn between them, and they move the corn toward the notch in the ring as the plate is rotated. A collar 9 rests on boss 3, and it forms part of a crank-handle-S, by means of which the plate 6 may be rotated. The shaft 5 extends up into collar 9, and it has a longitudinal groove 11, into which pin 10 extends from the collar. The shaft is bored in its upper end and interiorly threaded, and a bolt 13 is screwed into the threaded bore of the shaft. A washer 12 rests upon the collar 9, and the head 1A of bolt 13 rests upon the washer. The handle is splined onto the shaft, and the shaft is vertically adjustable through the handle by means of the set-screw. Consequently the plate 6 may be adjusted to bring its perimeter nearer to or farther from the lower edge of the ring by simply turning the set-screw 13.

The perimeter of plate 6 has about the same diameter as the inner surface of the ring, and the plate is separated from the ring to form a slot through which grains of certain edgewise thickness may fall. The extent of the separation and consequent width of slot may be varied by means of the set-screw or by other mechanical means for giving the plate axial motion with relation to the ring. The inner surface of the ring and the upper or outer surface of the perimeter of the plate form a V-shaped channel or a channel with inclined sides, which leads to the slot and presents the grains of corn edgewise to the discharge-passage. Grains thin enough to pass through the slot will be discharged therethrough, and grains too thick to escape in that manner will be carried to the notch i and discharged separately. A chute formed. of side walls 15 and15 and bottom 15" leads to the inside of the ring and above the disk at a place somewhat in advance of the notch 4, and through this chute the corn to be sorted is supplied to the sorter.

A bracket 16 is adapted to be secured to a side of a box 22 by means of bolts 23, and it has a plate 17, which is curved to conform to ring 1 and is attached thereto. An opening 18 is formed through the bracket in line with notch 1, and the lower wall of the opening acts as a chute to carry large grains over the side of the box. Extension 19 projects from bracket 16 toward shaft 5 below plate 6, and an arm 20 is bored to [it the lower end of the shaft and is adjustably secured to extension 19 by a bolt 21 or otherwise. The arm 20 is intended to stay the lower end of the shaft, so that the plate 6 and the ring may run precisely concentric without close and accurate journaling of the shaft in boss 3. In setting the arm the sorter is turned upside down and the plate is brought into close contact with the ring. This action insures true concentricity between the plate and the ring, and when the arm is clamped in place under these conditions the concentricity is maintained when the plate is moved away from the ring and into an operative position.

"In operating the sorter'corn is supplied through chute 15 and the plate 6 is turned in the direction indicated by the large arrow in Fig. 1. The grains travel in the direction shown by the small arrows, and those of suitable thinness fall through the slot formed by the plate and the ring into box 22, while grains too thick to pass through the slot are carried to notch 4: and discharged outside the box. In case it should be desired to sort very thin grains from the seed the bolt 13 is set to dim inish the space between the plate and the ring, the sorter being operated in the manner hereinbefore described, except that the corn is supplied somewhat more slowly, and the normal grains are carried to the notch, while the undesirably thin ones are dropped into the box through the slot.

I claim 1. In acorn-sorter, the combination of a pair of members forming a slot having converging sides and an enlarged discharge-space, one of the members being movable with relation to the other, and extensions on the movable member projecting into the slot.

2. In a corn-sorter, the combination of a pair of circular members forming a slot having converging sides and an enlarged dischargeopening, means for rotating one of the members concentric with the other member, and extensions on the rotatable member projecting into the slot. 7

3. In a corn-sorter, the combination of a ring having parts of its under edge in different horizontal planes, a circular bevel-edge plate rotatable in the ring concentric and out of contact therewith, and a set of grain-carrying extensions on the upper surface of the plate near the perimeter thereof.

a. In a corn-sorter,the combination of a ring having a notch in its under edge, a circular bevel-edge plate rotatable in the ring concentric and out of contact therewith, ribs on the upper surface of the bevel edge of the plate, and means for adjusting the plate axially with relation to the ring.

5. In a cornsorter,the combination of a ring having a notch in its under edge, a shaft journaled in the ring concentric therewith, ahandle splined onto the shaft above the bearing thereof, a set-screw in the upper end of the shaft with its head resting on thehandle, and a circular plate fastened onto the shaft with its perimeter adjacent to the lower edge of the ring.

In testimony whereof I sign my name in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

LEVI P. GRAHAM.

Witnesses NORA GRAHAM, FAY GRAHAM. 

